


Unorthodox

by nicrt



Series: The Five AUs that No One Asked For [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: 5au Series, Alternate Universe, Darth Serpentus, Gen, New Sith Line, Sith Obi-Wan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:57:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicrt/pseuds/nicrt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with no Fear. Respected Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order. Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Negotiator (or Silver Tongue). Feared Sith Warrior of the New Sith Line. Both are the unorthodox members of their own groups. Their paths cross when they are sent on a mission together to the frontlines of the Clone Wars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

Knight Skywalker was...loose wasn't the exact term he'd use, but he was definitely not the typical Jedi he's met with before. Serpentus took note of his darker robes; all shades of brown and black, a stark contrast from the neutral or white colours Jedi wore. The gait he had and the way he talked; they were of raw quality, an open honesty dampened slightly by the quick looks given to him by the other Jedi present. He took it as a sign of still being young, at an age of invincibility and unhampered energy.

The other Jedi in question were famed Masters Jinn and Windu, the two humans as holographic projections from wherever they were. Serpentus' own master Tyranus, was another projection beside of him. The charged spark in the Force was noticeable; bad blood ran between Jedi and Sith after all. But in such a case as the Clone Wars, such animosity is put aside, if only to ensure that whatever threat the Galaxy had would not mean its end.

That didn't mean small jabs weren't often used in conversations.

"I assume that your Sith apprentice will be able to complete this task?" Windu's eyes narrowed slightly as he scruntinised Serpentus.

He regarded the suspicion with coolness, and nodded in affirmation.

Tyranus, however, replied haughtily. "How my apprentice concludes this mission is of no concern to you, Jedi. He will complete it, regardless of the obstacles ahead." He turned to Knight Skywalker, the sneer in his voice apparent. "I can't say the same for your apprentice however."

Skywalker made the move to retort; Serpentus could see him rolling with undiluted irritation. "I do well on my own just fine Sith. And I'm a knight now! Not some Padawan."

 _Oh dear_ , Serpentus inwardly sighed. _You walked right into that one._

"Indeed," Tyranus was preening now, "your stunt on Geonosis proved as much."

Serpentus stepped in smoothly from there, "Perhaps Master, the blockade may be of a more worthy adversary for the Jedi; they are but just droids after all."

The Dark practically cackled at the subtle insult; Skywalker however, while still fuming, projected relief.

Jinn rubbed his chin, bristling his beard. "Even just droids can prove a challenge; Naboo showed that much. But yes, the Sith is right, it is best if we focused on the present matter at hand."

The briefing ended after the formation of attack was agreed upon; Serpentus' forces will press an offence while Skywalker's will converge on either side of the blockade, effectively pincering them. As soon as the holographic Masters disappeared, Skywalker let loose a string of Huttese curses.

"Dooku is a jerk; a big poodoo-head jerk." Anakin hissed at him.

Well...Serpentus could think of a worse way to describe his Master.

"Try being his apprentice for a good decade; maybe you'll learn how to 'finally speak like a true Master of the Force'." Serpentus spoke the last bit with an imitation of his Master's voice.

Anakin snorted. "Not thanks, I have you around to prove that to me." He shook his head, a smile forming on his face. "Thanks for that back there."

He replied with a shrug. "But truthfully speaking, if it hadn't been for you, Geonosis would have been a loss to us."

"Is that Serpentus speaking? Am I hearing right? Did he just praise me?"

"Don't get used to it Skywalker." But Serpentus rolled his eyes in good nature.

Anakin grinned, before leaning over to put his arm on Serpentus' shoulder. "Don't plan too. But for now, let's drop the act. We won't be Jedi and Sith until we touch down on the surface yeah?"

Obi Wan chuckled at that. Yes, not for a good hour or so. For now, they were Obi Wan and Anakin; the oddest friendship ever formed in this galaxy.

And Obi Wan was glad to have it.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

Darth Serpentus was a well-known name amongst the people of the galaxy. It instilled fear into their hearts for the most part. He was a Sith Lord after all, the 'opposites of the Jedi'. But he wasn't Ventress with her prowess from dark corners or Sora Bulq for his raging swordsmanship.

_Silver Tongue_ , they would whisper behind his back.

Unofficially on the Holonet, they named him 'The Negotiator'. It was a nickname that the Republic encouraged as propaganda, of a Sith that could actually bring a battle to a standstill with just mere words. They don't dare say 'a Sith that brought about peace' though, oh no; now _that_ would incur the New Siths' wrath.

But the ones who've met him know better; that he wasn't the gentleman warrior with diplomatic skills.

Negotiator came from his way with words; Silver Tongue was for the methods used in enforcing those words. It was the way he approached his dealings, the predatory aura about him differed from the easy and cool expressions on his face. He was charming and polite, suave even if he has to be, good at piquing the interest of the easy-to-fool. Those who were...stubborn though, brought about the more _menacing_ part of him; the one that enjoyed the fear and discomfort projecting off his targets.

Practically, his mediating skills was used for all sorts of situations. He had haggled with a merchant for hours, with the results depending on how mean he had to be (that was how he had helped a disapproving Qui Gon in getting Anakin off Tatooine). Or that time when he had to end an uprising, specific instructions being there would be no violence, but still he promised either blood or peace for the opposing forces (Mandalore was a distant and sad memory now).

Today was one of those days when his commandment in war wasn't needed. Instead, he had to baby sit the proceedings of a treaty between two rival factions of this one planet. Glorious.

"I can practically see the dark clouds above your head." Master Jinn mused by his side.

Serpentus glowered, feeding off the energy of distrust lingering in the room. "I hate politicians."

"That I know." There was a teasing air about the Jedi that made Serpentus grimace even more.

"I hate being a peacemaker even more." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Isn't this a Jedi's job? Peace and happiness and all?"

"I won't be the one to start up that old argument again." As they have been for over twenty years now. "But the Chancellor sees you as an asset in establishing these treaties; you are quite the negotiator after all."

_He hates the Chancellor the most_. "It's against my Sith ways."

"Again, I will not start. For now, however, the Republic requires your...touch in this matters."

"And your council approves of my meddling?"

"Let's just say I'm here to ensure that no 'sabres are raised today."

Serpentus couldn't help the smirk. "Ahh, I so do appreciate the level of faith your Council has in me. Warms my heart, truly." Master Jinn rolled his eyes. "Well, I best not disappoint them; I do have a reputation to upkeep."

Qui Gon smiled (a sad one Obi Wan knew, but Serpentus ignored) and bowed, hand gesturing towards the table where the delegates and representatives awaited. With the strides of a confident and regal man, Serpentus walked over and bowed low before the group. And as he came up, gone was the dim glow of old Kenobi.

Yellow eyes gleamed under the lighting of the room, as Serpentus prepared his poison and bared his fangs.

_"Well now? Shall we proceed?"_


	3. Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).
> 
> A/N: Firstly, thank you for all the follows, faves and reads; I'm glad there're those who enjoy the story! It's been awhile since I've been on a writing spree, and my head's so far up in the clouds, it's getting hard to come back down. If anyone wants to learn more about this AUs I have planned, there's three more, feel free to find me on dustybunnyplots or nicrt on tumblr!

"On your left!" Anakin cried, eyeing the stray droid levelling its blaster at Serpentus.

He struck his palm out, felt the Force swirling about his arm and then hurling itself at the droid. It was shoved backwards, but a stray shot from its weapon clipped Serpentus at the shoulder. Serpentus shrugged the wound off, rolling his shoulder around and continued deflecting blows off his 'sabre.

Anakin did the same, the blaster bolts now becoming a heavy downpour on their troops. The heavy rain did little to slow their opponents down, and it wasn't exactly helping them either. Anakin felt another burst in the Force and it ached; a cannon fire had obliterated another group of Clones.

"We're not winning this." Serpentus shouted at him, with that look of grim focus.

"We can't pull back!" Anakin shouted back. "We lose this post, we lose this planet; you know that!"

"Then what do you suggest?! We lose this battle yes, but not the lives of our men!" Serpentus struck metal down as he used defense for a quick offense. "Skywalker we have to retreat!"

"We are not losing this post Serpentus!" Then he screamed out, horrified. "Obi Wan!"

Blaster fire caught the older man at the chest, scorching his armour chest plate right in the middle. Time slowed for Anakin, his mind unable to process what just happened. Suddenly he's greeted with a rush of memories; of heavy rain and coloured blood in the puddles, of smoke and screams in the air. The abrupt disconnection in the Force; the loss of the familiar Force signature he's been fighting next to for the past year.

 _No_ , he thought in fear.

Serpentus was rocked backwards, would have flied even, had he not dug his heels into the mud and steadied himself. Relief flooded through Anakin at once as he saw the other man stand, but at the same time the Force boiled over.

He could feel the hurricane of emotions emitted from the Sith: anger, pain and determination. Mostly pain; Anakin could hear the ragged breaths Serpentus tried to take. Anakin has only ever seen a Sith react to an injury like this in annoyance or with violence; Ventress he remembered, was practically a hellcat yelling in outright fury at even being hit.

Serpentus raised his head and his yellow eyes shone coldly, mouth set in a grim line. The steel expression he wore cut to another memory Anakin had, of Tyranus and the emotionless mask he had on as he executed the Geonosian forces. Serpentus raised both hands, lightsaber humming red, and unleashed the unrestrained currents of the Dark Side.

His blue lightsaber shot up quickly, deflecting the stray lightning that meandered towards him. Some clones got out of the way, barely avoiding the streaks of electricity. The crackle of the lightning pierced through the metal of the droids; squadrons fell as theit circuitry fried and their tanks dropped with a heavy thud as they deactivated. Time was still slow for the Jedi, as seconds felt like hours, just watching the blue streaks mercilessly destroy.

And like every flash of lightning, it disappeared just as fast as it appeared. The Force that had sang in agony and hurt now stayed silent around him. The forest was just as quiet, the sounds of the clankers gone.

An uproar of victory cries started amongst the men, past the pitter patter of rain that was coming to a standstill at last. Anakin deactivated his lightsaber, marching over to the other man. Serpentus was standing with his arms still outstretched above his head, the glow of his 'sabre illuminating his face. His usually neat hair sagged over his forehead, his beard wet across the jawline.

Anakin put a hand on the man's shoulder and rushed to hold him up, as the Sith started falling. Obi Wan's signature hummed in quiet suffering.

" _Pain is what keeps us alive Anakin. It's what reminds us that we are not dead just yet_."

Anakin grunted as he pulled the man upright, mindful of the likely burn on Obi Wan's chest. The Force around Obi Wan thrummed steadily in pain, like an aching heartbeat.

" _It's what tells me to survive_."

Together, they limped towards the medical tents, the rain clearing out to a clear open sky.


	4. Part IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

**A/N:** I've actually crossposted this on FF.net; and answered reviews on the latest chapters there, that may-maynot give insight on the direction I'd go for the fics. You can take a peek there, is all I'm saying! ^^

Sagacious was not a name he'd put together with the face of a Sith Lord, but then who knew when it came to the Sith. Especially those of the Pureblood line.

Mace watched as the cloaked figure stepped out of the ship, with an Acolyte at either side of her. The neutral territory on Coruscant, where Sith and Jedi agreed to meet, throbbed heavily with the Force as Light mingled with Dark. Tyranus awaited at the bottom of the boarding ramp, with Serpentus lingering behind. The two Lords bowed low as the figure reached them, then joined her entourage as they made their way towards the gathered Jedi.

Skywalker fidgeted as they approached, glancing suspiciously at the group every now and then. When his eyes met Serpentus', Mace noted, he had calmed down significantly.

Yoda's own entourage consisted of himself, Knight Skywalker, Master Plo Koon and Knight Asharadd. They met the group with a hard glare, and the other party faced them with mutual disgust.

The Sith Lord under the cloak pulled her hood down, wrinkled crimson skin showing. A bony hand clutched tightly onto a long walking staff, thick brown wood thudding heavily on the ground. The other one was stroking the right tendril of her face, with a thoughtful look in her golden eyes.

The grin she had on her face bared yellowed fangs. "I won't lie Jedi; I dislike being here."

Yoda, the sagely Master of their group, nodded. "Like this as well, I do not. But happen, certain things must."

"Yes...it seems like they must." She gestured to the present group. "Leave us. This is a discussion for the old ones."

Tyranus frowned but said nothing; Tol Skorr and Kadrian Sey gave similar expressions of disdain.

Mace and Plo shared a look; to leave Yoda alone with the Sith Lord...

"Fine it will be." Yoda assured his companions. "Much there is to speak of. Much there is to learn."

The two old masters walked off then, their wooden sticks the only sounds of their departure from the area.

•x•x•

"Careful Master Jedi Yoda..." Sagacious began as they walked out of earshot from their groups. "I sense darkness in your supposed Chosen One."

"Clouded yes, his future is." Yoda agreed. "Not lost yet either, is he."

"Yet." Sagacious echoed. "And yet there he was; coiled and connected with the darkness."

"Lose him, we will not." His stick banged firmly onto the ground. "Lose another Jedi to the Dark Side, we will not."

"Like your dear Dooku?" Sagacious smiled wickedly. "Or your precious Obi Wan Kenobi?"

Yoda did not rise to the bait. "Chosen their paths they have; guide them, the Force still do. Dark it may be, but hope still there is."

Sagacious gave no comment on his optimism. "You've called us here, when there are worlds out there to conquer; or liberate as you say."

The bustling of the City Planet felt like lightyears away when they were here. Master Yoda could almost lose himself here, with the Force beating so strongly and significantly around him. "Asking once again, I am. Of why doing this, you are."

"Is the hatred for the Banite Traitors not enough?" Sagacious hissed.

"Two there always was, a Master and an Apprentice. No more, no less." Yoda recited. "Now more have come; under your grasp, they are. Teach them the ways of the Sith, you have. And yet…"

"We are not true Sith, you believe." This was amusing to her. "The path is fogged and you not who to trust. And what is a true Sith, Master Jedi?"

"Slaves of the Dark Side, they are. Only power they seek."

"In the barest of form; yes. We do seek power. But no...not slaves. Never always slaves. That would make you, Master Jedi a slave to the Light."

"Not like the Sith, we are."

"I beg to differ. You search for peace, we look for power. Our methods are different, but we endeavour to find the same thing: satisfaction."

Yoda was quiet as he pondered over this. Satisfaction was...a word to describe their ways, yes. He was no fool, he knew what the Sith meant. And he understood what she was telling him. Admit it though? Not yet, at least.

"But to answer your question." Sagacious looked towards the darkening evening. "There was a time when the Sith were noble; savages and cruel, yes, but noble. We had an Empire! An Empire to uphold, to cultivate and expand. Protect even."

"Do this for the Republic, you are now."

"Not for them; Force knows how many of those politicians are more of a snake than we are. Our goal is simple: to crush the Banite Sith."

"And after?" The future is misty, where the Light could not penetrate; and the Jedi Master worried of what might come next if they lose this war.

Or win it.

Sagacious, High Lord of the New Sith Line, titled Darth Neoera and Grand Master to Tyrannus and Serpentus...grimaced. For her Darkness too could not penetrate the mist.

"We shall see."


	5. Part V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

**A/N:** More Darth Serpentus yay!

* * *

 

Meditation was a key practice amongst the Jedi, instilled and enforced since one's initiate days. It was the act of centering one's self, in finding a state of peace with their emotions and situations. It was supposed to be a time when a Jedi is closest to the Force while they breathe, away from distractions.

It was the only teaching Serpentus allowed himself to continue using since his leaving he Jedi Order.

Serpentus dropped his boots to the side of his bunker, sighing as he rolled his tensed shoulders. His shared-quarters looked marginally cleaner than when he last left it a week ago for the campaign planet-side. The scattered tools Anakin usually leaves on his bed were cleared off and neatly placed back into the toolbox on the desktop. The meditation mat that Anakin rarely used was rolled up in the corner, a little dusty from prolonged disuse. Serpentus often used it instead; Anakin preferred to work his discomforts away with mechanics.

The warm mat was a welcomed exchange from the cool floor. Serpentus kneeled down, sitting on his thighs and placed his palms in his lap. He closed his eyes, began the breathing techniques he remembered as a child and let the Force surround him.

Anakin had once mentioned the difference in all the New Sith's Force signatures. A natural at the Force, he could easily sense whose was what and described them to him.

His Master's he knew was akin to tar, a signature that he's familiar with for nearly two decades now. It was slick like oil whenever he was close by, thick and viscous around him, almost always suffocating. And when he was in battle, figuratively and literally, it hardened instantly into stone; unbreakable and unbroken.

Ventress' was like dancing with wildfire. When she was being well-behaved, it was like a small flame, still hot enough to burn. But like the Sith she was, quick to hate and easy to anger, her fiery signature burned on and on. There was nothing but anger fueling her fire.

Bariss differed greatly from the other Acolytes; a former Jedi herself before she had fallen, hers reflected a particular cold and icy front. No longer the gentle coolness Anakin had once known, it lowered greatly into a frost that he couldn't understand, as he explained it. Serpentus recognised his apprentice's signature as simple sheet of ice; it would take time before she could strengthen it like a glacier.

The doors opened then and Serpentus inwardly cursed; Anakin strolled into the room, datapad in hand and the other tossing his lightsaber up and down.

"Hey Obi Wan." He greeted, and Obi Wan heard him slumping onto his bunker. "Finally some R and R."

Obi Wan chuckled at that. "We've only just finished one battle; we have many more worlds to cover, my old friend. And I thought you like being in all the action."

"Yeah, except y'know, I'd like to have some time away from blasters and heavy artillery too." He heard Anakin shuffle a bit on his bed. "Time to spend back home."

"Ahhh." Obi Wan opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder, seeing Anakin propped up on his arms on the bed. "You miss Padme."

Anakin's lips jutted into a pout. "Yeah..."

See, this was how and why the two of them got along: they were both imperfect in their causes and beliefs.

"I'm sure your wife is fine." Obi Wan assured the young man. "Though since we're having downtime, why not give her a call?"

Anakin brightened up at that. "Should I? Can I? I mean, she'd probably pick up but I don't know-"

"Anakin." Obi Wan smiled in amusement. "Call her."

The young Knight scrambled up onto the desktop, where the holocomm was. "You don't mind right?"

Obi Wan merely waved the boy off and closed his eyes once more. He could feel the excited energy coming off of him, followed by the sudden surge of love when he got through.

A pang of sadness hit him then, and Obi Wan made quick work to that into pain and then into strength. He was suddenly reminded of why he wanted to meditate in the first place: the visions that had rocked him to his core before his induction into the Sith Line, had started up once more.

When he was found on Bandomeer by Sagacious, "he had been nothing but a beacon of agony", as she had described him.

_"Come youngling." She had smiled wickedly. "I will teach you how to turn that pain into strength."_

Serpentus breathed in deeply, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught he knew all to well of. In his meditative trance, he couldn't hear the conversation between wife and husband behind him, couldn't feel the tremor of the starship engines below him, and only noticed the Force ready to engulf him.

Anakin had called his signature a trap. It was peaceful and calm, a balming and lulling sense of security that hid something notorious beneath it. He couldn't ever pinpoint on it though, mainly out of both respect for Obi Wan's privacy and the dreaded sense of the Dark Side he knew existed in him. He didn't want to know what it was that made Obi Wan Serpentus; he only wanted to see what he wanted to see.

At that Serpentus felt anger; such friends they were, but Anakin was the selfish one. He turned that into a mournful sensation though, at the rememberence of his visions.

With a quick warning sign in the Force, mostly at Anakin right behind him, that he was shielding himself from everything, Serpentus braced himself.

And watched in horror as he watched his whole world burn away.


	6. Part VI

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

**A/N:** For those who follow the Lovelight au...I FINALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH LOVELIGHT AU! THANK GOD! I was worried that I wouldn't but when you mix procrastination of work and determination to do work, you end up getting enough endorphine to THINK A WHOLE PLOT THROUGH EYA! But for the most part, Lovelight will still be under works; and then the remaining three aus, we'll see? ^^"

* * *

Barriss could not keep the worry from her voice, despite having taken the title of Sith. "Master!"

Ahsoka turned away from Rex and the others, the issued orders drying in her mouth as she saw the two generals limping towards them. Well, really it was her Master dragging a half-dead Serpentus with him. She ran towards them when her initial surprise and relief faded, and worry took place.

"What's his status?" Barriss asked immediately, taking note of the scorch mark on her Master's armor, right above his heart. That did not bode good news.

"Blaster fire." Skywalker answered, grunting as he helped Serpentus along. He lowered him to the ground as slowly as he could. "Right at his chest."

"He needs medical attention!" Ahsoka cried out to the troopers at the back.

Barriss scowled at the answer given, a hundred possible diagnoses and complications running in her head. "I can heal him while we bring him over to the medical tents." A pair of clones brought out a stretcher, putting it down besides them..

Skywalker gave her an incredulous look, but made no comment. He helped place Serpentus onto the stretcher. The medics then lifted the stretcher up, the three Force-users following them as the jogged through the rainforest. Serpentus was quiet for the most part, merely grunting in pain.

 _Good_ , Barriss thought as she put a hand above the man's chest. _It's like you say Master...pain means you're alive._

"'m-" Serpentus ground out, "fine."

"With all due respect Master," Barriss coldly replied, glaring at the man, "No, you're not."

Centering herself, she stretched out towards the Sith lord's energy and was greeted by a burning sensation. _Force_ , she thought, _he's better at hiding his pain than I thought_. Her own cold Force energy mixed with his, tinted by the dark side, and that aggravated his energy further. _He's been keeping himself alive with the pain...while using it to strengthen his own healing..._ She frowned. _But it's not working...or rather his organs aren't healing! They're working but they're still gravely injured._

Still, she didn't have time to think of possibilities; now, it was about her opening up to a long disused method, but never forgotten.

_Force...I've forgotten how beautiful the light side is…_

It enveloped like a mother's embrace, warm and full of life...she directed that into her hands and then into Serpentus' wound...felt the life force within each of his cells and she called it to action...lulled them into piecing themselves together, stitching the wound while doing away with the burnt and old parts…

It was then that Serpentus' eyes opened, almost wild-like in the look and shining a feverish yellow.

"Stop." He growled out.

Barriss could feel his anguish through her current connection with him, an anguish mixed with disappointment and fury.

She countered his glare with her own icy stare. "No."

"This…not...Sith's way."

"What does it matter!" She snapped, half focused on the healing process. "You're injured!"

"You...are my...apprentice. Much...to learn."

At that, she was cut off so suddenly from him that it left her bewildered. "Master! What are you doing?!"

Ahsoka was by her side by that point. "What? What's wrong?"

"He's not letting me heal him!"

"What?!" Ahsoka turned to look down at the Sith lord, his face twisted in agony. "Master Kenobi why?"

A hand touched her shoulder; Skywalker, his other hand on Barriss' shoulder, nodded off to the side. "Look." He said.

Padawan and Acolyte gazes met, before looking in the direction of the forest beyond. And both immediately felt sick in their stomach.

The flora that towered above them, trees of grand heights and foliage of magnificent green turned ashen and shriveled-like; the proud brown barks looked grey now, and leaves began falling faster than when a nonexistent autumn came. Life around them began _dying_. Everyone, clone and wildlife alike, watched in horror as the natural world around them turned bleak without life. A silent scream rang out througout the rainforest; it cried, and cried, a sadness that called out to the Force users.

"Oh Sith's hell…" Ahsoka breathed.

"You said it." Skywalker said.

Barriss looked down at her Master; eyes closed, breathing even, his face a picture of serenity. How sad, that it would take a healing trance like his to save himself by taking the life force around him. Barriss was furious and felt the light side slip away sadly; why won't he just let her _save him?_

"Because my very young apprentice." Serpentus sat up then, forcing the group to stop and set the stretcher down. "You chose this path...and you will follow it."

She grimaced. "And...you would teach me how to do... _that_?" Taking a life, she could swallow; taking a life and making it her own?

Serpentus gave the Mirialan a smirk. "We're Sith dear. I don't do the teaching; you do the learning."

At that, she grimaced. _W_ onderful...she had to have the one Sith Lord in the world who liked playing with his food.

She punched him on the shoulder, mindful of his injury of course. "Next time you plan to die, maybe you just should. Master."

A round of laughter erupted from him, "Next time you want to punch me then, do it with all you have, apprentice."

And that was it, and all was okay.


	7. Part VII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

**A/N:** BAM! TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE GO! ENJOU PEEPS!

* * *

Well, not really.

Anakin was giving him a hard time.

"You think your master could survive yours' worried ranting?" Barriss asked.

Ahsoka shrugged. "I'm not too worried though...Master Kenobi's...pretty patient."

"Is that why I was entrusted to him I wonder?" Barriss replied dryly.

She couldn't help it but Ahsoka giggled. "His humor is rubbing off on you though."

"Magnificent."

"Aww it's not that bad."

"No…" Barriss agreed, watching the two masters bicker it out. "I supposed not. It could have been Master Tyrannus, for all we know."

"Oh, yuck." Ahsoka winced.

"Precisely." Then Barriss spoke aloud of the sudden thought in her head. "Do you know what the other Acolytes call him? My master, I mean."

Ahsoka shrugged.

"Well...have you ever tried to pry into his Force signature?"

Ahsoka blinked. "Uhh, no...Master says that, it's best if we left it alone…"

"Has your Master ever described it to you?"

"Once." Ahsoka admitted after a moment. "He said...that there was a lot of pain and agony."

"Anything else?"

The Togruta hesitated. "Sadness...there was a lot of sadness in him."

Barriss nodded. "They called him the Sith of Sorrows…and no one knows why…"

•x•x•

"Kenobi..." Yoda started on his next question, ears drooping. "How is he?"

Sagacious' tendrils quivered slightly. Yoda could not tell if it was from anger or something else entirely. "Serpentus is...flourishing. He is no doubt, one of my most prestigious; I intend to make full use of him. I should thank you," another evil smile, "you did after all gave him to me."

"Hand over to you, we did not." Yoda sternly objected.

"Mmm yes...that is what he said as well. But you had left him on little Bandomeer, so open to the Force, so unguided, so untrained...be thankful it was not a Banite that had found him there."

"Regret, I will not feel. Mourn, I already have. A great Jedi he could have been."

"You sound attached."

"Miss him I do. But let go of him, I have." Yoda sounded almost wistful despite his declaration.

Sagacious could- dare she say it- empathise with this. "Yes...were it another world, another path...I would say he'd be the bane of my existence. And while what ifs will get us nowhere; the Sith of Sorrows is on your side still. It's easy for me to remember that."

At the name, Yoda perked up. "Sorrow, you say?"

Sagacious remembered that fateful day on Bandomeer. The child was newly thirteen standard years, and was left on the cold world by the Jedi it seemed. He was minding his own business, attending to his duties, the Living Force epically surrounding him. But then on that one night; the Unifying Force trapped him with it's fist. He had dropped everything he held, hands tearing at his hair and with a broken cry, fell to his side in what was the most agonising scene she had witnessed.

"He is strong with the Unifying Force, as he is with the Living." She deigned him an answer. "Ironic; the Living Force he had been forced to learn, and the Unifying Force he had been forced to take, choosing him as their own pet."

"What it was that made him sorrowful, you have not said."

_"The visions!" He had cried, clawing at her cloaks. "Make them stop! Make them STOP!"_

"I don't know." She replied truthfully, sending that to the Jedi through the Force. "He will not say of it."

"But I do know this." She gazed into the smaller Jedi's eyes, clouded with loss and lost; her own would reflect his. "He knows who the enemy is. And that is why, dear Master Jedi, we must not lose him."

The words _Or we lose the whole galaxy_ hung in the air between them, a new sense of dread that mingled with the hope they had for their crumbling world.


	8. Part VIII

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Characters/factions/items that were not mentioned in the Star Wars franchise belong to me. I do not own any characters/factions/items that do belong to the Star Wars franchise (e.g. Anakin Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi).

"Why, Serpentus?"

Obi Wan lifted an eyebrow, giving the Jedi Knight an incredulous look. "We're on title basis again now, Skywalker?" He was laid out on his cot, the one they used during whatever downtime was available during the war.

Anakin gave him a scathing look. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Not entirely, you've only asked why and yet not of what." Obi Wan winced as he tried to reach for the flask on his cot's sidetable.

Anakin was quick to snatch the flask away from the table, taking it somewhere far off from Obi Wan's reach. Obi Wan sighed; there went his usual painkiller. When the Knight came back, Obi Wan gave him his best grimace.

"Drinking that isn't good for you." Anakin said, dragging a chair up next to the cot.

"On the contrary, Stewjonan brandy is well known for its more than helpful qualities." Obi Wan grinned up at him.

"Oh yeah?" Anakin glowered in response. "Why? Why'd you do that?"

And here Obi Wan thought Anaki had forgotten. "Specifics, Anakin."

"That stunt back there?" His tone was clipped, voice raised slightly. "You were right in the middle of camp! You could have killed the troopers!"

"Ahhh...well I would have waited until I was in bacta. Or drinking my brandy. But Barriss-"

"Was just helping!" Anakin exclaimed. "She was trying to heal you!"

"By using the Light Side." Obi Wan snapped back. "In case you haven't noticed Anakin, she's a Sith Apprentice now."

"So?! She could have helped you! What's wrong with using the Light side to help you?"

 _Oh not this old argument again_. "We deal with absolutes Anakin. The Sith within the Dark; the Jedi and their Light. You can't become and rely on both. We-"

"Obi Wan, you were dying." A hysteria Obi Wan hadn't noticed before was colouring his voice now. "I could feel it. I could sense it dimming. If I- if we- I-"

 _Sith's hell_ , Obi Wan thought, _he hadn't had to deal with an emotional Anakin since_...

"That was not Jabiim." Obi Wan sighed; though hesitantly, he placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder.

"It could have been." Anakin touched the hand with his own.

"Master Windu would disapprove of this attachment of yours. Especially so, since I am a Sith."

Anakin flinched. "You keep saying that. It's not like I don't know you're a Sith."

"Am I wrong? And you seem to have a nasty habit of forgetting it. Stop thinking of what-ifs and could-haves Anakin. I am not and cannot be a Jedi. I have dedicated myself to the Dark arts as you have to the order. Do not make the same judgement as Qui Gon has, in that I can be turned to your Light."

Anakin was quiet after Obi Wan's little speech; a quiet Anakin was never a good sign, in Obi Wan's experience. It meant he was thinking and thinking of dark things most likely. He was about to speak out once more when Anakin said his piece.

"Are you trying to convince me? Or yourself?"

It was the question that Serpentus has been asking him for a very long time.

_Are you truly a Sith, Obi Wan? Can you truly not be turned to the Light? Can you truly dedicate yourself to the Dark? Can I never become more than a shadow of your desires?_

Obi Wan had an answer, an this answer terrified him to his very core.

_As long as Anakin lives...no, he is not truly a Sith. Yes, he can be turned to the Light. No, he cannot dedicate himself to the Dark, not yet._

As long Anakin breathes as a Jedi, as long as Anakin stood for what is right and good, Obi Wan would still live on as the boy trembling under the weight of his visions. As long as the Dark being Vader would never arise, Obi Wan would still be wearing the skin of a Sith.

_And if Vader does rise?_

_Then Serpentus would to_ , Obi Wan answered. _And I will die._

Obi Wan looked to the saddened Anakin, mulling over his what-ifs and could-haves. Obi Wan had none of those because the future was already set in stone, no matter what preaching of the Living Force and the present Qui Gon likes to speak to him about.

Because the Dark Side has made its promise.

The Jedi will fall. And the Sith will rise.

And then balance, would be achieved.

•x•x•

Sagacious disagreed with this train of thought Serpentus has, still does vehemently whenever he brings it up. The older woman would bare her teeth, poke and prod at his shielded mind with the force of spiked hammer. Never a fun experience.

"You are Serpentus!" She would hiss. "I gave you your name. You are my child, my tool, my hand. Obi Wan, is dead."

Serpentus disagreed with that particular statement. "No, he's still quite alive in here Master. And not very keen on losing his Jedi friend."

A whack onto his cheek was strong enough to make it bruise, and there was a small cut too judging from the blood running down to his chin.

"We are Sith, Serpentus. The true ones, the ones of old. The ones who've learnt, from Bane and Revan and Nihilus; the ones who will, and forevermore, rule this Galaxy. The Jedi are our sworn enemy. Your precious Skywalker," she growled the name out with hate, "will be your undoing. I have said this, Tyranus has said this. You will obey."

Serpentus found one of the little green orbs Sagacious kept around her quarters more interesting at the moment. For a Sith Lord stereotypically known for their penchant for reds and blacks, she was quite fond of the eerie green shades that draped the cavern she called her abode. The orbs were a dim light source for her, glowing low enough to keep the shadows inside, bright enough to see. Green was a good match to her red skin, Serpentus thought.

"Dear Master, I would have to disagree with you once more." He answered when he heard the impatient tapping of her stick. "On just one account, I assure you. It would be Obi Wan's undoing should he still latch onto Anakin; it would destroy him, should Anakin also die."

(Somewhere in the back of Serpentus' mind, Obi Wan was screaming at him for him to shut up.)

Sagacious rounded on him, yellow eyes ablaze. "Your visions?"

Serpentus had kept a tight lid on his visions for many years now; of whatever horrors were to come, he never spoke of it. But as most of his Sith kind has found, it has caused him nothing but agony. The gold that burned in his eyes was more sadness and pain rather than the angry yellow or reds the other held. _Sith of Sorrows_ , they called him. Another name added to the many he already has.

He knew that sharing these visions of his may one way or another change the future; whether for better or worse, he won't be sure.

(Obi Wan kept hammering at him to shut up, to speak of nothing, to keep everything a secret. To change nothing, no matter how much you wanted to Serpentus.)

So he answered, "They promise of the rise of the Sith, m'lady. Do not worry; the Jedi will fall."

Sagacious stiffened at that promise. "And this is from what perspective exactly, Serpentus?"

The Sith Lord, like a poised snake ready to deal with the threat disturbing its slumber, rose and looked at Sagacious in the eye. "From a certain point of view, m'lady. To be more specific," Obi Wan grinned, "mine."


End file.
